Reframing the Roman Economy: New Perspectives on Habitual Economic Practices

Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Pathways to Reframing the Roman Economy: From Uniformity to Diversity?
Introduction
The Roman Economy Revisited
Primitive, Modern … or Simply Roman?
Long-Distance vs. Regional vs. Local
From New Institutional Economics to Complexity Economics
Mechanisms and Concepts for Exploring ‘Diversity’
From Romanization to Glocalization
Ecological Economics & Resilience Theory
The Content of This Book
Conclusion: Toward a More Diverse Roman Economy
Bibliography
Part I Unusual Actors, Attitudes and Perspectives
2 Textile Economy in the Veneto Region (North-Eastern Italy): A Textile Tools Oriented Spatial Approach
Introduction—The Research on Textile Economy in Pre-Roman and Roman Veneto
The Dataset of the Pondera Project
A Spatial Approach
Textile Production
Land Management and Work Organization
Ideological Meanings
From Tools to Textile
Conclusions
Bibliography
3 Craftsmen and Shopkeepers Serving the Army: The Example of the Colony of Lugdunum (First Century AD)
Introduction
The Shops/Workshops at ‘Clos Du Verbe Incarné’: A Local Production of Offensive Weapons
Description and Functional Analysis
The Trilobate Arrowheads
Craftsmen in Lugdunum and the Production of Military Equipment
Archaeological Data
Epigraphical Data
The Production of Military Equipment in Civilian Contexts: Long-Distance Networks or Local Market?
Customers and Trade
The Actors of the Production Process
References
4 Children in the Roman Farming Economy: Evidence, Problems and Possibilities
Introduction
Roles of Children in Farming: Roman Textual, Visual and Archaeological Sources
Roles of Children in Farming: Ethnographic Data
Conclusion
References
Part II Unconventional Loci of Production
5 Roman Metallurgic Production in the Veneto Region Between Urban and Rural Contexts
Introduction
Methodology
Metallurgy in Urban Contexts
Big Production Complexes
Urban Workshops
Metallurgy in Rural Contexts
Rural Workshops
Workshops in the villae-mansiones
A Diachronic Reconstruction of Metallurgical Production Between the Second Century BC and Sixth Century AD
References
6 Pigs in the City, Bees on the Roof: Intra-Urban Animal Husbandry and Butchery in Roman Spain
Case Study I: Pigs (and Deer in the City)
Case Study II: Bees on the Roof
Conclusion
References
7 Olive Oil Production and Economic Growth in the Roman Provinces: The Peculiar Case of Volubilis in Mauretania Tingitana
Introduction
Olive Cultivation and Oil Production, a New Business in Roman Tingitana
Volume of Production and Distribution of Olive Oil
Investors and Investments in Olive Oil Production: A Quantitative Approach
Olive Oil and Local Wealth at Volubilis
Impact of the Olive Oil Business in the Volubilitanian Society
Comparing Olive Oil Industries and Their Contexts: Volubilis vs. Lepcis Magna
Conclusion
References
8 Roman Road Stations in Gallia Cisalpina: An Archaeological Approach to Elusive Central Places
Vehiculatio and Road Stations
Research Questions and Methodology
Case Studies on the via Aemilia
Other Case Studies from the Region
Final Remarks
References
Part III Distinct Landscapes of Exploitation
9 Ephemeral Economies? Investigating Roman Wetland Exploitation in the Pontine Marshes (Lazio, Central Italy)
Introduction
The Pontine Marshes
Exploiting Wetland Resources: Archaeological and Ethno-Historical Examples
Agriculture
Pastoralism
Natural Resource Exploitation
Recent Field Surveys in the Pontine Marshes (2006–2020)
Exploiting the Natural Riches of the Pontine Marshes
Fishing
Breeding of Dormice
Pottery Production
Pastoralism
Conclusions
References
Part IV Less-Visible Products and Artefacts
10 Settling the Salinaria? Evaluating Site Location Patterns of Iron Age and Roman Salt Production in Northern Gaul
Introduction
Salt in Northern Gaul: A Long-Standing Research Tradition
The Political Development of Northern Gaul in the Roman Period
Salt Production Landscapes in Northern Gaul (ca. 800 BCE–400 CE)
The Development of Iron Age and Roman Coastal Salt Production
Early Iron Age Salt Production and Gift Exchange in the Netherlands
The Emerging of a Late Iron Age Salt “industry” in Northern France
An Unexpected Early Roman Decline in Salt Production
A Flavian Cluster of Production Sites in the Northern Menapian Coastal Area
A Thriving Late Second- to Early Third-Century Roman Salt “Industry”
Conclusion
References
11 Ollae, cistulae, cadi, utres, cupae, and Other Intangible Vessels in the Roman Economy: Some Case Studies
Introduction
Uvae Ollares and Other Kinds of Prized Fruits
The Daily Supply of Fresh Fruit and Legumes
Expensive and Fresh Fish
Wine, Olive Oil, and Fish Products
Concluding Remarks
References
Part V Revising Traditional Narratives
12 Reconstructing Economic Rural Landscapes: The Case of Southern Etruria
Introduction
Proxy Evidence
Towards a Definition
Proxies and the Reconstruction of the Roman Economy
Epistemological Range
Representativity
Scalarity
A Bundle of Proxies
The Reconstruction of Economic Rural Landscapes
Case Study: South Etruria
The Database and the Selection of Proxies
Rural Economic Landscapes in South Etruria
Diachronic Developments
Spatial Results
Conclusions
References
13 Ancient Indian Ocean Trade and the Roman Economy
Introduction
Structural Considerations
The Roman State and Trade
Navigating Seas and Institutions
Conclusions
References
Index